Ausgrid

Ausgrid

Type	State government owned
Industry	Utility
Predecessor	EnergyAustralia
Founded	1 March 2011 (2011-03-01)
Headquarters	Sydney, Australia
Key people	Trevor Armstrong Roger Massey-Green
Services	Electricity distribution
Owner	Government of New South Wales
Parent	Government of New South Wales (49.6%) IFM Investors & AustralianSuper (50.4%)
Website	www.ausgrid.com.au

Ausgrid building, Sydney

Ausgrid is a state owned electricity infrastructure company, which owns, maintains and operates the electrical distribution networks to 1.6 million customers^[1] in Sydney, Central Coast, Hunter Region and Newcastle areas of New South Wales. It was formed in 2011 from the previously state owned energy retailer/distributor, EnergyAustralia, when the retail division of the company, along with the EnergyAustralia brand, was sold by the Government of New South Wales.

The company is owned by the Government of New South Wales; and it has two shares, one each held by the Minister for Finance, Services & Property and the Treasurer of New South Wales respectively.^[2] In October 2016, a 99-year lease for 50.4% of the business was sold.

Lease

In 2016, the NSW Government is offered 99-year lease and 50.4 percent of the business to bidders.^[3] This has been opposed by the trade unions and the ALP.^[3] On 11 August 2016, the Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison made preliminary decision to block the sale to the consortium of State Grid Corporation of China and Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings on the basis of national security concerns.^[3]

In October 2016, IFM Investors and AustralianSuper were announced as the successful bidders.^[4][5]

Sponsorship

Ausgrid inherited the naming rights sponsorship of Hunter Stadium from EnergyAustralia in March 2011. The stadium was known as Ausgrid Stadium until the contract expired at the end of 2011.^[6]

Controversy and criticism

From 2012 until present Ausgrid has received numerous complaints and requests for better stakeholder management and consultation of the local community. Ausgrid was seen as forcing their network capacity increasing (and therefore profit increasing) projects onto local residential communities. Affected residents groups from the suburbs of Leichhardt,^[7] Penshurst^[8][9] and East Lindfield^[10][11] protested against unwanted and dangerous electricity High Voltage cabling, transformers and transmission towers^[12] being installed in front of their residential homes without proper consultation or response to complaints by the community. The residents, after many urgent appeals to Ausgrid's COO Trevor Armstrong and the Chairman Roger Massey-Green, had been given no other option to notify local MP's, the media, the Environmental Protection Authority and other authorities to get action against Ausgrid.

References

External links

• ausgrid.com.au